It’s getting hot out there, isn’t it?

Don’t you love when people say,“Is it hot enough for ya?” What are you supposed to say? Nah, I like it when I feel like I’m baking, or being baked – whichever version you prefer. Why don’t you just throw in some 100% humidity and I’ll be just swell – baking and glistening all at the same time. Well, as the title implied it sure gets hot here, but there are certain things that can be done to make us as comfortable as possible.

With the advent of modern technology we have the cure – air conditioning. Just imagine for a moment where we would be in the state of Florida without air conditioning. Would we even want to live here? I wouldn’t. I don’t particularly enjoy being baked. We rely on air conditioning to keep us cool, dry and comfortable, and as with all mechanical equipment, it requires a certain amount of upkeep. In addition to a/c there are other ways to help keep the air in your home cooler and save money at the same time. Here are some tips that should help:

Have your system checked at the very least once a year by a state certified air conditioning contractor. The money spent for this check is almost always saved in energy bills and even more so, it prevents a great deal of troubles down the road. Little hint: a/c systems all seem to break down at the same time – when it gets hot. So, stay ahead of the curve and get your system checked before it’s too unbearable to be without

Keep your ceiling fans going twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The amount of energy that is required to run your air conditioning for one hour could run all of the ceiling fans in your home for twenty four hours. This is not to say that you can turn your air conditioning off, please don’t, you’ll put me out of business, but you may be able to run you’re a/c a little warmer because of the evaporative effect created by the air movement created by the ceiling fans

Prevent that sunshine from coming in during the hottest times. Natural light is a wonderful thing for keeping the microorganisms from growing, but it is one of the major contributing heat sources infiltrating our home. So, close the blinds on the sunny side of the house and keep that room from getting too hot

Keep that fridge coil clean. This may sound like a strange suggestion but your fridge coil is the part that distributes the heat out of your refrigerator. If the coil is dirty the system has to run longer, doing two things: raising your electric bill and adding more heat to the conditioned space that needs to be removed. A fridge brush can usually be obtained at a hardware store. If they don’t have them in stock, I bet they’ll order one for you

While taking showers and baths run your bathroom exhausts. The heat and moisture created by bathing really adds to the load of you’re a/c system. Let it run for at least 10 minutes after you are done. Better yet, have a timer/switch installed on your bathroom exhaust that way you don’t leave it running all day

Cooking adds a tremendous amount of heat that needs to be removed. So cook on the grill with your family a couple of times a week

And last but not least drink plenty of water. Our bodies have its own cooling system that requires a tremendous amount of fluid to work at peak performance. Not to mention that it’s good for you!

As always thank you for reading and stay cool,

Bryan
Bryan Hayes, along with his brother Todd, is a co-owner of a Sanibel Air Conditioning company on Sanibel, FL. They also own and operate an island-based electrical service company Sanctuary Island Electric, Inc. Bryan can be reached at Bryan@Sanibelair.com